Joanne Elizabeth Rout, née Round (born 1975,

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, England) is a retired British Paralympic swimmer. Joanne came to national attention when she competed in the 1988 Seoul Paralympics. Round was the youngest member of the Great Britain Team, undeterred by the age and experience of the athletes around her. She won two Gold and three Silver medals and remains to this day the youngest British Gold Medal winning Paralympian.

Personal life

Born on 31 October 1975, Round and her family soon moved south to

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

. There Round attended Bishops Down Primary School and then went on to

Bennett Memorial Diocesan School Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is an all ability co-educational academy in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, which caters for students from age 11 to 18. History The school was founded on 17 October 1951 by Lady Elena Bennett of Matfield ...

. Round, who has a congenital limb deficiency, is missing her left arm from just below the elbow. She became interested in swimming at a very young age and swam for Monson Swimming Club. She has maintained her interest in her sport and is now a qualified swimming teacher and volunteers at Beacon Swimming Club within the Life Saving section.

Career

At the age of 12, Joanne Round was the youngest British athlete at the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially. Bidding proc ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. She competed in the 100m Breaststroke, Butterfly, Backstroke and Freestyle, the 200m Individual Medley and the 4x100 Freestyle and 4 × 100 m Medley Relays. She won Gold medals in both of the relays, also setting World Records in these events with her team mates

Dianne Barr Dianne Barr (born 13 September 1972) is a Northern Irish Paralympic swimmer from Larne. Barr started swimming at the age of four, and has a congenital abnormality of the lower leg. At the age of eleven, her lower leg was amputated and replaced w ...

, Linda Walters and Thelma Young. Round also won individual Silver medals in the 100m Backstroke, 100m Butterfly and 200m Individual medley. She swam in what was then the A8 disability classification. By June 1988 Round held 19 national records simultaneously.

Honours and awards

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

Borough Council honoured Rout with the award of their Civic Medallion after her return from Seoul in recognition of her efforts and achievements at such a young age. In 2012 she was announced as a London 2012 Olympic Games Torchbearer. She carried the Torch through her home town of

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...

References

*http://www.paralympic.org/Athletes/Results note- You will need to search for the athlete Round, Joanne {{DEFAULTSORT:Rout, Joanne 1975 births Living people Paralympic swimmers for Great Britain Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming British female freestyle swimmers British female backstroke swimmers British female breaststroke swimmers British female butterfly swimmers British female medley swimmers